Keyboards with a built in trackpoint (the little eraser nub) are available from several companies, including IBM and Unicomp http://www.pckeyboard.com/
The only motion required from a normal home-row typing position is to move your right or left index finger over about 2cm, and the thumbs don't have to be moved, as they naturally rest on the left and right mouse buttons, respectively.
This is very low stress, and the keyboards tend to be good quality. I use this with my IBM laptop for usually upwards of 12 hours a day (IRCaholic), for many years, and have no hand problems.
Older (but still recent) Thinkpad keyboard trays were sealed units, waterproof, with a raised lip around the edges, that could hold about 4 ounces of liquid. The newest Thinkpads, after the Lenovo purchase, have the same thing, except there is a port that goes straight through to the the underside of the laptop from the keyboard tray, allowing it to drain.
Last lunar eclipse I took some zoom photos with a makeshift camera/binocular setup, and this time decided to do a sky track, like the original poster. Using thoroughly unimpressive equipment (a 1.3 MP Canon A10 digital camera and tripod) I took 60-some exposures once a minute over the transition from partial to total eclipse.
Here's a short video of my result - it's not as smooth as the original poster's, but it shows the moon a bit better - however please don't expect miracles:
Zero comments, and it's already dead. Well, not completely dead. I'm getting about 1KB/minute. Thanks for at least warning us that your server wouldn't last long.
You're a brave poster, poster. *salutes*
We definitely need some more pre-emptive slashdotting features. *votes for automatic torrents*
Oh goody. First of all, I have used Linux recently, and you seem to have missed the point, I was complaining about the downloads, not the OS itself. I simply cannot get broadband, it is not available here. Second, I don't lick anyone's ass. I bought, and use Win2K because in my extensive experience (that is, nearly every day since its release), I have found it to be an extremely reliable, as well as usable OS. Many apps I use are exclusive to Windows (and there are no comparable Linux alternatives) so running them on WinE would just be stupid and redundant. I admit I'm not the savviest user out there, but if I can keep a Win2K powered PII-366 laptop with only 128 MBs of RAM as my primary work / play / development / gateway / everything-else-but-new-games machine, up and running for nearly two months (only restarting for updates, and with lots of demand on the OS every day), then I say that's pretty darn good. Get off your high horse, and next time you want to insult someone because they're using something practical for how they work, uncheck that little box. Coward.
ARRRGH, all these dang security updates, and patches, and holes, and everything... It's not fair. And Linux is no better, I'm stuck on 56K, so getting the thing in the first place is hard enough... not to mention isn't a fulltime job in itself.
I think I'll just go back to Windows 3.1 on all my machines, that will solve all these problems I'm having with new operating systems.
...what the heck is my sixth grade brother going to do with *any* laptop?
He uses computers for 1 thing:
Games.
And *maybe* the occasional paper. Maybe. And I can guarantee that most 6th graders, given a laptop, will have laptop pieces within a few weeks.
Thus leading to my second thought: If they're really serious about this, they should get Panasonic ToughBooks or something ruggedized... but those are a *little* out of the price range.
And my third thought: *imagines warehouse filled with OS X laptops*
Dang, only 6 comments, and the server is down... Must've been running a Palm server. *chuckle* [/obligatory]
In all seriousness though...
I'd have to say no. My 3(?) year old Vx still does its job remarkably well, and I don't want a Palm-based Pocket PC do-alike. The Tungsten E is getting closer to what the Vx was in it's time, but it seems they keep skirting handily around the midrange model that I'd like and be able to afford - especially with that battery life! And no expansion capabilities either... a shame as well. I don't want to pay $200 extra for a little SD slot, or likewise...
This would make it very easy to play games places that you aren't supposed to be playing games. School computer labs for instance, where the networks are good, and the computers are great, and... they use them for MS Word. Or cube farms.
Now, all that's needed is a hotkey to eject the CD and kill the machine in case Someone approaches...
It says in the article that IBM maintains Linux versions of software for most of their computer lines.
So yes, I suppose so.
But does it really matter that much? I wish I had a computer with 65,000 processors, and 16 terabytes of memory, but something tells me that consumer devices of this magnitude are still a ways off.
fod is right, ageitgey is wrong. Any Commodore Amiga that is running a PowerPC processor should be able to run this OS. And most Amigas are running PPC procs now...
"If you are planning on offering the RIAA's music, what do you really have to do to play their music legally?"
Give them lots of money.
Granted, that's not the way it should be, but as it currently stands, that is how it is. They're just acting like greedy, bratty kids with too much money, and parents who are (largely) content to just slap them on the wrist.
I have no idea how sturdy 3DGPU's server is either, so this may serve a double purpose in case it goes down: ----------
Latest SecuROM Foils Even The Best CD Copiers
Posted by Paul Sullivan on October 10th, 2002 - Thursday 11:32 am
I have been getting a good stream of emails regarding the trouble copying the latest games with SecuROM protection and have been working to determine what is up, and after some hardcore telephone dialing, begging and pleading, have uncovered some information you all should know about. More than two individuals at two different companies (who unfortunately don't want to go on the public record for fear of reprisals) have confirmed to me that the latest SecuROM protection was designed specifically to thwart even the best current methods of copying.
From what I have been told, the new configuration uses a special glass master and pressing media with certain unique characteristics that allows the SecuROM protection to tie itself specifically to the physical structure and characteristics of each disk so that copies are very difficult if not impossible for the average consumer to make. I was further told that since copy protection companies were not able to get many CD drive manufacturers to comply with requests to build protection detection into their firmware and other aspects of the drives, the copy protection companies opted to go with one thing they can control - the physical media itself. The media is apparently special ordered and not designed to be made available to the public. Kind of like how you are issued keys to your post-office box that are not supposed to be copied by retail shops or how some new keys include custom microchips that cannot be duplicated by key fabs for public use.
If copying is to be able to be done, the thought is that true 1:1 copies will not be possible, since the protection is tied to each specific disk it is implemented on. If a fix is to be made, it will have to be on the software end, it appears. Don't hold your breath, however, as developing software that is specifically designed to thwart such protection is now subject to the DMCA, at least for now. Of course, we all know how that can turn out. We will need to wait and see if CloneCD, BlindWrite, CD-Mate or others can find a way to strip the protection from the original while duping, or perhaps find a way to alter the copy protection as it is transferred so that it recognizes the characteristics of the blank CD in use.
I was also told that No-CD hacks are not something these folks care much about. A couple of folks told me that No-CD hacks are pretty benign and if it keeps a loyal customer happy, they are ok with it. It is the copy and dissemination of the originals that seems to be what they are worried about. More as it becomes available. Any info you can share would be welcome here in the comments area.
Heck, anything better than what we have had is a good start. But I'm afraid the $1 million is too little, and the vast majority of the public really doesn't care, or see the need for anything to change. Do they really care if long-dead animator Walter Disney gets to keep the rights to poor Mickey Mouse? No.
Which means, at least for the short term, we're still screwed.
Advocacy can work wonders, but only if the public is willing to listen, and right now, I don't see that happening.
In mid-August, I was outside late at night, trying to catch bits of the perseid shower... Unfortunately, I seem to have missed it at its peak, but I did see a few meteors.
Anyway, while I was outside, I noticed a strange light, moving north, pulsing slowly. It moved much faster than a plane ever would appear to move at a very high altitude, didn't leave a trail, and was apparently very far away, as it was so small and so dim as to be almost invisible.
I'm no astronomer, so I didn't check it out thoroughly, but I'm pretty sure it was a weather satellite on its peculiar pole-to-pole orbit.
It faded out gradually, until I could no longer see it.
I'm 18 years old. When the BBSes were at their peak, I barely even knew what a computer was. Now, about 10 years later, people my age who have been using the 'net and other various online communication for several years are starting to realize the value of our figurative ancestors.
At the very least... I am. There's only so much one can learn about the past by reading. Hearing about the experience first-hand (or second-hand, as the documentary would be...) is another thing entirely. Can you be nostalgic about a past that you never had? I think so. This documentary will be great for people like me who want to know what "our" history was like.
Call me sentimental, but I get a little teary just thinking about it. The past is worth much more than some of you people (naieve newbies) take it for.
Slashdot Mirror
Keyboards with a built in trackpoint (the little eraser nub) are available from several companies, including IBM and Unicomp http://www.pckeyboard.com/
The only motion required from a normal home-row typing position is to move your right or left index finger over about 2cm, and the thumbs don't have to be moved, as they naturally rest on the left and right mouse buttons, respectively.
This is very low stress, and the keyboards tend to be good quality. I use this with my IBM laptop for usually upwards of 12 hours a day (IRCaholic), for many years, and have no hand problems.
Older (but still recent) Thinkpad keyboard trays were sealed units, waterproof, with a raised lip around the edges, that could hold about 4 ounces of liquid. The newest Thinkpads, after the Lenovo purchase, have the same thing, except there is a port that goes straight through to the the underside of the laptop from the keyboard tray, allowing it to drain.
Last lunar eclipse I took some zoom photos with a makeshift camera/binocular setup, and this time decided to do a sky track, like the original poster. Using thoroughly unimpressive equipment (a 1.3 MP Canon A10 digital camera and tripod) I took 60-some exposures once a minute over the transition from partial to total eclipse.
Here's a short video of my result - it's not as smooth as the original poster's, but it shows the moon a bit better - however please don't expect miracles:
90KB, 572x600, DivX, a few seconds long.
Zero comments, and it's already dead. Well, not completely dead. I'm getting about 1KB/minute. Thanks for at least warning us that your server wouldn't last long.
You're a brave poster, poster. *salutes*
We definitely need some more pre-emptive slashdotting features. *votes for automatic torrents*
This was only posted by one AC earlier, but he had a good point: the device on the left appears to be SMC's Wireless Multimedia Receiver http://www.smc.com/index.cfm?sec=Products&pg=Produ ct-Details&prod=308&site=c
Heh, it even says "SMC" on it.
Here's the original one on the site:G G
http://apollo.lunarpages.com/~fracke2/DCP_1976.JP
And with a little bit of URL tweaking, the better pic:
http://apollo.lunarpages.com/~fracke2/DCP_1975.JP
I think it was... Divine Limit - by Kryptonic, off of mp3.com. In the first days I found that site, I grabbed a lot of electronic music. :)
;)
December 3, 1999... a date I remember well
Oh goody. First of all, I have used Linux recently, and you seem to have missed the point, I was complaining about the downloads, not the OS itself. I simply cannot get broadband, it is not available here. Second, I don't lick anyone's ass. I bought, and use Win2K because in my extensive experience (that is, nearly every day since its release), I have found it to be an extremely reliable, as well as usable OS. Many apps I use are exclusive to Windows (and there are no comparable Linux alternatives) so running them on WinE would just be stupid and redundant. I admit I'm not the savviest user out there, but if I can keep a Win2K powered PII-366 laptop with only 128 MBs of RAM as my primary work / play / development / gateway / everything-else-but-new-games machine, up and running for nearly two months (only restarting for updates, and with lots of demand on the OS every day), then I say that's pretty darn good. Get off your high horse, and next time you want to insult someone because they're using something practical for how they work, uncheck that little box. Coward.
Though... after reading that last article maybe I should just go buy a Mac.
(and learn how to type... "not to mention it's a fulltime job in itself")
ARRRGH, all these dang security updates, and patches, and holes, and everything... It's not fair. And Linux is no better, I'm stuck on 56K, so getting the thing in the first place is hard enough... not to mention isn't a fulltime job in itself.
I think I'll just go back to Windows 3.1 on all my machines, that will solve all these problems I'm having with new operating systems.
...what the heck is my sixth grade brother going to do with *any* laptop?
He uses computers for 1 thing:
Games.
And *maybe* the occasional paper. Maybe. And I can guarantee that most 6th graders, given a laptop, will have laptop pieces within a few weeks.
Thus leading to my second thought: If they're really serious about this, they should get Panasonic ToughBooks or something ruggedized... but those are a *little* out of the price range.
And my third thought: *imagines warehouse filled with OS X laptops*
BEOWULF CLUSTER.
Dang, only 6 comments, and the server is down... Must've been running a Palm server. *chuckle* [/obligatory]
In all seriousness though...
I'd have to say no. My 3(?) year old Vx still does its job remarkably well, and I don't want a Palm-based Pocket PC do-alike. The Tungsten E is getting closer to what the Vx was in it's time, but it seems they keep skirting handily around the midrange model that I'd like and be able to afford - especially with that battery life! And no expansion capabilities either... a shame as well. I don't want to pay $200 extra for a little SD slot, or likewise...
Oh well, I can keep waiting. *pats the Vx*
This would make it very easy to play games places that you aren't supposed to be playing games. School computer labs for instance, where the networks are good, and the computers are great, and... they use them for MS Word. Or cube farms.
Now, all that's needed is a hotkey to eject the CD and kill the machine in case Someone approaches...
Opteron 140:
$248 USD
Gamecube:
$99
I am the future of digital projection systems.
=D Yay!
It says in the article that IBM maintains Linux versions of software for most of their computer lines.
So yes, I suppose so.
But does it really matter that much? I wish I had a computer with 65,000 processors, and 16 terabytes of memory, but something tells me that consumer devices of this magnitude are still a ways off.
Total Annihilation
*eek!*
Why would anyone using Google be using it to look for a different search engine?
This one is beyond my comprehension...
fod is right, ageitgey is wrong. Any Commodore Amiga that is running a PowerPC processor should be able to run this OS. And most Amigas are running PPC procs now...
"If you are planning on offering the RIAA's music, what do you really have to do to play their music legally?"
Give them lots of money.
Granted, that's not the way it should be, but as it currently stands, that is how it is. They're just acting like greedy, bratty kids with too much money, and parents who are (largely) content to just slap them on the wrist.
Treat them as such.
I have no idea how sturdy 3DGPU's server is either, so this may serve a double purpose in case it goes down:
----------
Latest SecuROM Foils Even The Best CD Copiers
Posted by Paul Sullivan on October 10th, 2002 - Thursday 11:32 am
I have been getting a good stream of emails regarding the trouble copying the latest games with SecuROM protection and have been working to determine what is up, and after some hardcore telephone dialing, begging and pleading, have uncovered some information you all should know about. More than two individuals at two different companies (who unfortunately don't want to go on the public record for fear of reprisals) have confirmed to me that the latest SecuROM protection was designed specifically to thwart even the best current methods of copying.
From what I have been told, the new configuration uses a special glass master and pressing media with certain unique characteristics that allows the SecuROM protection to tie itself specifically to the physical structure and characteristics of each disk so that copies are very difficult if not impossible for the average consumer to make. I was further told that since copy protection companies were not able to get many CD drive manufacturers to comply with requests to build protection detection into their firmware and other aspects of the drives, the copy protection companies opted to go with one thing they can control - the physical media itself. The media is apparently special ordered and not designed to be made available to the public. Kind of like how you are issued keys to your post-office box that are not supposed to be copied by retail shops or how some new keys include custom microchips that cannot be duplicated by key fabs for public use.
If copying is to be able to be done, the thought is that true 1:1 copies will not be possible, since the protection is tied to each specific disk it is implemented on. If a fix is to be made, it will have to be on the software end, it appears. Don't hold your breath, however, as developing software that is specifically designed to thwart such protection is now subject to the DMCA, at least for now. Of course, we all know how that can turn out. We will need to wait and see if CloneCD, BlindWrite, CD-Mate or others can find a way to strip the protection from the original while duping, or perhaps find a way to alter the copy protection as it is transferred so that it recognizes the characteristics of the blank CD in use.
I was also told that No-CD hacks are not something these folks care much about. A couple of folks told me that No-CD hacks are pretty benign and if it keeps a loyal customer happy, they are ok with it. It is the copy and dissemination of the originals that seems to be what they are worried about. More as it becomes available. Any info you can share would be welcome here in the comments area.
Heck, anything better than what we have had is a good start. But I'm afraid the $1 million is too little, and the vast majority of the public really doesn't care, or see the need for anything to change. Do they really care if long-dead animator Walter Disney gets to keep the rights to poor Mickey Mouse? No.
Which means, at least for the short term, we're still screwed.
Advocacy can work wonders, but only if the public is willing to listen, and right now, I don't see that happening.
In mid-August, I was outside late at night, trying to catch bits of the perseid shower... Unfortunately, I seem to have missed it at its peak, but I did see a few meteors.
Anyway, while I was outside, I noticed a strange light, moving north, pulsing slowly. It moved much faster than a plane ever would appear to move at a very high altitude, didn't leave a trail, and was apparently very far away, as it was so small and so dim as to be almost invisible.
I'm no astronomer, so I didn't check it out thoroughly, but I'm pretty sure it was a weather satellite on its peculiar pole-to-pole orbit.
It faded out gradually, until I could no longer see it.
Now, I'm just left wondering if it was an honest mistake to spam the visitors, or if someone thought the irony would boost visits...
/. posting some news that really didn't matter, just in an attempt to be funny...
'Cuz that would be like
=D
I'm 18 years old. When the BBSes were at their peak, I barely even knew what a computer was. Now, about 10 years later, people my age who have been using the 'net and other various online communication for several years are starting to realize the value of our figurative ancestors.
At the very least... I am. There's only so much one can learn about the past by reading. Hearing about the experience first-hand (or second-hand, as the documentary would be...) is another thing entirely. Can you be nostalgic about a past that you never had? I think so. This documentary will be great for people like me who want to know what "our" history was like.
Call me sentimental, but I get a little teary just thinking about it. The past is worth much more than some of you people (naieve newbies) take it for.